The Resurrection of the South Seas of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 824 Daming's Railway Network Construction Planning and Human Sophistication (seeking subscription for monthly ticket)

Seeing this scene, Zhu Hongyu was not annoyed, but explained.

"In my opinion, it is meaningless for the court to keep too much fiscal surplus in its hands."

"Only when money is spent, turned into resources, and turned into a driving force for social progress and development, can money be called money!"

"The imperial court saves money and is reluctant to spend it. It is no different from hiding a pile of beautiful stones in the treasury."

"meaningless!"

Bai Wanxi bowed down when he heard the words.

"What Your Majesty said is true, but in order to prevent accidents from happening, the imperial court should reserve a part of the fiscal surplus for emergency use."

Zhu Hongyu nodded in agreement, and then continued to speak.

"What the Qing family said is true! Starting from this year, the imperial court will reserve 5.00% of the finances for emergency reserves in case of emergencies."

Obviously, Zhu Hongyu is a person who can listen and persuade.

After finishing speaking, Zhu Hongyu continued.

"Financial matters are nothing more than the two points of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure."

"Instead of thinking about how to save money, it is better to think about how to ensure the accuracy of taxation and how to increase the fiscal revenue of the court."

"You know, a lot of money can't be saved!"

"Emperor Sizong abolished the station system back then, which indeed saved a fortune for the court, but it also abolished a Li Zicheng."

"If the imperial court hadn't abolished the post station back then, did you know that Li Zicheng would not continue to be my postman in the Ming Dynasty?"

"Besides, the dismantling of post stations also collapsed the imperial court's system of distributing official documents and war reports, making it impossible for the imperial government to communicate, and the domineering local generals gradually became stronger."

"Isn't this lesson profound enough?"

"As the Minister of Finance of my family, the Qing family must manage my money bag for me, but I can't save the money that should be spent."

Bai Wanxi heard the words and said.

"Wei Chen is terrified!"

Zhu Hongyu shook his head slowly, and then spoke.

"There is no need to panic, you are just doing what you should do."

"Do your job well. Go back and collect a tax report from the imperial court last year and send it up. I want to have a look at it myself."

Over the years, the total tax revenue of the Ming court has been increasing.

First, industrial and commercial development stimulates the growth of business taxes.

Second, the appeasement policy promised by the imperial court to the local government for three years without taxation for five and a half years gradually expired, and the local government began to gradually resume the collection of agricultural taxes.

What you need to know is that in the feudal era, the agricultural tax was the bulk of all taxes.

Even though the industry and commerce of Daming has reached a certain scale, the importance of agricultural tax cannot be ignored.

Even if Zhu Hongyu abolished the three salaries, abolished those exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes that were cleverly named, and unified them into regular taxes. While reducing the burden on farmers, the total agricultural tax of the imperial court was also increasing.

What's more, the agricultural tax is not only related to the financial revenue of the imperial court, but also related to the imperial court's grain reserves.

It can be said to be the most important thing!
The third point is the government's rectification of salt tax, tea tax, vehicle and boat tax, and other taxes, as well as the increase in stamp duty...

What you need to know is that at the peak of the Qing Dynasty's salt tax revenue, the annual income of the salt tax alone was tens of millions of taels.

This was still in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, after the emergence of a He adult, corruption in the government was rampant, and taxes were severely cut by local officials and salt merchants.

It can be seen how high the income of the Salt Administration can be!
Even if the population of Daming is not as large as that of the peak period of the Qing Dynasty, and the exploitation of the people below is not as frenzied as the Qing Dynasty.

But with the salt tax alone, it is easy to earn tens of millions a year.

Not to mention tea tax, vehicle and vessel tax, stamp duty and other taxes.

The imperial court's taxes are increasing every year, which is why Zhu Hongyu has the confidence to carry out large-scale foreign conquests and promote the prestige of the celestial dynasty.

The reason for the large-scale domestic construction and infrastructure construction.

In the final analysis, it was because he had money and was willing to spend it.

For example, Zhu Hongyu wants to fight Burma, after eliminating the troops sent by the various vassal states in the coalition army.

The Ming army alone has tens of thousands of troops fighting outside, and a larger number of civilians are responsible for the logistics and supply of the army.

Zhu Hongyu's move can be said to be a great success!
However, Zhu Hongyu is willing to spend money. The army will be rewarded if it wins, pensions will be given to those who are disabled, and the court will support your family if you die in battle.

Under the generous reward, the whole army is loyal to the emperor with a hundred loyalty.

Even the civilians who are responsible for transporting logistics to the army are paid, instead of being conscripted to make them work for nothing.

In general, if the emperor wants to fight Burma, everyone will benefit.

In this way, who else would care if the emperor is very happy?

I'm afraid that the emperor would wish that the emperor would be more rejoicing. After fighting Burma, he would hurry up and fight other countries so that they can continue to have income.

Man, what he cares most about is his own interests.

Therefore, Zhu Hongyu is going to take a look at the court's tax revenue last year, and find ways to increase the court's revenue.

Because the imperial court's finances are where Zhu Hongyu's confidence lies.

……

Shanxi, Taiyuan Prefecture!

Taiyuan is rich in coal and iron resources, which has been famous since the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Even in later generations, Shanxi Coal Boss is still a famous existence.

Naturally, it was impossible for the Ming court not to develop such an obvious resource. After the court discovered a large amount of coal and iron ore in Taiyuan Prefecture, a large-scale state-owned mine was established.

Mine after mine were mined, and a large number of iron-making furnaces and steel-making furnaces were erected.

Steel production is rising steadily!
Inside and outside Taiyuan City, black smoke billowed everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of soot, which was quite pungent.

The sun shines on the ground, and the smoke and dust particles in the air are clearly visible, and there is a gray patch everywhere.

Even the green leaves on both sides of the road are covered with gray-black coal dust.

This is the price of industrial development.

At the cost of large-scale environmental damage, Taiyuan Prefecture provided a large amount of steel production capacity for the entire Northland.

The rails required for laying the railway were produced one by one, and then transported to the nearby construction site for the railway to become a road laid on the ground.

The imperial court is now carrying out large-scale infrastructure construction in the local area. Among them, the most important construction plan is the laying plan of the railway network.

Now the railway network that Daming is going to start building is not just the north-south line that is going to be used to replace the canal.

Instead, the entire Ming Dynasty is preparing a railway network plan!

Although for the time being, Daming is unable to lay the railway network to the county level in later generations.

But it is still possible to lay a provincial railway and connect the provincial capital with the provincial capital, or between important cities.

Of course it's impossible to do that all at once!

But if the time span of the project's construction plan is extended to 20 or 30 years, then this large project will no longer be a fantasy.

But the fact!

After seeing the convenience of the railway, the local governments of various provinces have already begun to write to the imperial court, requesting to start construction.

Especially in provinces like Shanxi and Beizhili which are rich in coal and iron resources.

They don't even need the court to send rails from other provinces, they can produce rails for construction by themselves.

As for the cost of building the railway...

How should I put it, although the cost is indeed quite high, the imperial court can afford it even if it bites its teeth.

The biggest cost of railway construction is none other than the production of rails.

To produce qualified rails, only Daming can do it in the world.

At the beginning, due to the immature technology, the production cost of the rails was really high.

But with the passage of time, Daming's rail production technology has gradually improved, and large-scale production has also produced a scale effect, which greatly reduces the production cost of rails.

Therefore, now Daming's rail production cost has dropped to an acceptable range!

And more importantly, in the future, the reduction of rail production costs is still the general trend.

That said, rails are only going to get cheaper and cheaper.

The other costs except for the rails are all extra, not a problem at all.

Manpower can be done by labor reform prisoners or labor imported from foreign countries, basically it belongs to the kind of food management.

The wages can be delayed and paid later!

As for technicians, you need to hire Daming engineers who know how to build railways. Although the personal wages are relatively high, due to the small number of people, it is completely acceptable.

To sum up, the court's plan for the construction of the railway network is feasible.

And more importantly, after the railway network is completed, it will bring Daming's comprehensive national strength to a higher level.

It will also bring the imperial court's control over the place to a higher level!
The telegraph and the railway may be the powerful weapon of the Ming court to rule the world.

……

Wang Changgeng walked out of Taiyuan City with his toolbox on his back.

His shoulders were slightly slumped under the weight of the heavy toolbox.

He was wearing dirty, oily and reflective overalls, gloves and a mask, and a hard hat made of rattan frames on his head.

Although it was dirty, his whole body was in good spirits. Judging from his body exposed to the air, the tendons on his body were quite obvious.

"Fifth brother, are you going to work?"

As Wang Changgeng was walking on the road, acquaintances passing by greeted him with smiles.

Wang Changgeng nodded and said.

"Yes, yes, it's my turn to go to work today!"

The acquaintance said flatteringly.

"It's good to have a hand in hand. Fifth brother can easily get five or six silver dollars into the account every month, which is much better than me, a street peddler."

This man is called Zhao Zhuzi, nicknamed Er Gouzi, and he is a shopkeeper.

Carrying burdens and walking around the streets every day, what I earn is hard money.

Wang Changgeng just smiled and shook his head.

"Where is it, I still envy Er Gouzi that you are more free. You can do what you want, and you can take a break if you don't want to."

"Unlike me, I have to go to work when the time comes, or I will lose my job."

Wang Changgeng was a worker in the court's mine outside Taiyuan Prefecture, but he was not in charge of mining or iron and steel, but an engineer in charge of repairing railways.

The main purpose of repairing the railway in the mine is to facilitate the transfer of minerals and reduce the investment in manpower.

The two greeted each other, and Wang Changgeng continued to walk towards the mine with the toolbox on his back.

Today is the opening ceremony of the railway in the mine. Wang Changgeng and other technicians must all be present to maintain and overhaul the rails to ensure that there are no problems with the opening to traffic.

When Wang Changgeng arrived at the mine, he signed in and clocked in and went straight to the construction site. When he arrived at the construction site, there were already many people busy working back and forth.

Overhauling the rails, overhauling the trains, the person in charge of the mine also came to the rails, asking about the specific parameters of the railway, a busy scene.

Most people wear masks on their faces to keep out the dust.

Of course, the masks they wear are not disposable gauze masks, but pure cotton masks, which can be washed and used repeatedly.

Although the quality is not very good, it is still a kind of labor protection.

It can greatly reduce the occurrence of pneumoconiosis.

Wang Changgeng followed the team to overhaul the railway, and then reported the results.

After the result is finalized, the train departs.

With the sound of a whistle and the sound of rail friction, a train dragging a carriage full of coal and iron ore appeared in everyone's sight.

Accompanied by a sound of friction, the train dragged the carriages one by one and began to drive slowly along the railway.

Passing through nodes one by one, unload the ore respectively.

After circling the entire mine and confirming that the railway system in the mine is in good condition, the train slowly stops...

……

Wang Changgeng finished his busy day and returned home with his toolbox on his back.

Recalling what the team leader said to himself today, he couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

With the opening and improvement of the railway system in the mine, so many technicians will no longer be needed for the subsequent maintenance and maintenance of the railway.

As a technician, although Wang Changgeng would not be unemployed, he would be sent to work on other railway construction sites.

Today's Ming Dynasty is full of places that lack labor.

Especially skilled technicians like Wang Changgeng don't have to worry about unemployment at all.

However, the railway construction site he was transferred to was a bit far from Taiyuan City...

If he goes there to report, he will leave home.

Thinking about these messy things, Wang Changgeng returned to his home.

As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the smell of food.

His wife, in her apron, was busy at the hearth.

Turning around and seeing Wang Changgeng walking in from the outside, Wang Zhang said.

"Head of the house, wash your hands first, sit and rest for a while, and the meal will be ready soon."

Wang Changgeng was tired outside all day, after returning home, Mrs. Wang and Zhang would definitely not let him work anymore.

Men make money to support the family, women take care of the housework, and work together in a division of labor. Only a family can be called a family.

Wang Changgeng nodded and said.

"Okay, daughter-in-law is busy first!"

"I'll pour a jug of wine later!"

After finishing speaking, Wang Changgeng put down the toolbox in his hand, then returned to his bedroom to change clothes and wash his hands.

After changing into clean clothes and tidying himself up, he put twenty large coins in his pocket, then walked out of the courtyard gate and headed towards the tavern in Fangshi.

After he returned home, Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Zhang prepared the meals, brought the delicious meals to the table, and waited for Wang Changgeng to come back to have dinner together.

The two daughters sat at the table, staring at the food on the table with bright eyes, swallowing from time to time.

And he was just born this year, and his son, who was still in his infancy, was held in Wang Zhang's arms and fed.

Wang Changgeng put the gourd containing the wine on the table, picked up a rough porcelain bowl and poured himself a bowl.

He took a sip of the wine, feeling the spiciness of the low-quality sorghum wine, Wang Changgeng slowly let out a mouthful of foul breath, feeling exhausted after a hard day's work today.

"Let's eat!"

After that, he started to move his chopsticks, picked up a chopstick of stir-fried Chinese cabbage, steamed buns and white porridge, and he also ate with relish.

The deep-fried whale jerky exudes a tempting aroma, and it only needs to be seasoned with salt to make the mouth salivate.

Wang Changgeng distributed the fried whale meat to his wife and two daughters with chopsticks, then took some porridge water with chopsticks, and teased the son in his wife's arms.

Looking at the eyebrows and smile on his son's small face, Wang Changgeng couldn't help laughing.

As a father, although Wang Changgeng has some patriarchal ideas, but when his son is still a baby, he can still make a bowl of water equal.

At the very least, if there is food at home, he will definitely not say no to his daughter.

After the daily hard work, when I go home and see the harmonious and warm picture of my family, I feel that my hard work is worth it.

Thinking of this, Wang Changgeng took another sip of sorghum wine.

Of course, he is not addicted to drinking, just to relieve fatigue.

The family sat around and finished dinner. The two daughters helped their mother clean up the dishes and prepared to wash the dishes.

Wang Changgeng was sitting on a deck chair in the yard, enjoying his free time while teasing his son in his arms.

The son in his arms giggled from time to time, very cute.

After his wife finished washing the dishes, the family sat and chatted together. Wang Changgeng teased his son while talking.

"I received a notice from my superiors, saying that for a period of time, I might be transferred to work on the railway construction site in Datong."

"At that time, I may have to travel for a long time, and you have to take good care of the children at home."

Wang Changgeng said to his wife.

When Wang Zhang heard this, she asked with an ugly expression on her face.

"Is this matter settled? Do I have to go?"

Wang Changgeng nodded solemnly and said.

"Yeah, I have to go."

"The work here in Taiyuan is finished. If you don't go to Datong, you can't find work."

"In order to earn money to support the family, even if it is far away, it is necessary to go."

The railway to be built in Datong, to put it bluntly, is actually a railway line connecting Taiyuan and Datong.

Both Taiyuan and Datong are one of the nine important towns of the Ming Dynasty. Whether it is for the convenience of logistics supplies or the mutual transportation between the two towns, it is very necessary to build a railway line.

When Wang Zhang heard the words, she spoke in a low tone.

"If you go to Datong, there will only be us orphans and widows left in the family."

There is no man in the family, so it is easy to be bullied.

Wang Changgeng shook his head and said.

"No way!"

"If I don't go to Datong, I can only go to the mine as an ordinary miner, and this skill will be in vain."

The wages of technicians like Wang Changgeng are very high, and they can receive five or six silver dollars a month.

And an ordinary miner can get less than two silver dollars for a month of exhausting food and drink.

The difference between before and after is more than doubled!
Wang Changgeng definitely couldn't accept that he was just an ordinary worker.

The income downgrade is too severe.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhang asked in a muffled voice.

"when are you leaving?"

Wang Changgeng pondered for a while, then spoke.

"Probably at the end of the month!"

"The higher-ups have to count the list, and then make preparations for going north."

Wang Zhang nodded and said.

"Go out, you have to take care of your health."

Wang Changgeng laughed out loud, and then spoke.

"Don't worry, your man is very hard!"

……

The imperial court wanted to build a railway linking Taiyuan and Datong, which affected not only those technicians.

Including grain merchants supplying food for construction sites, steel factories supplying rails, cement factories supplying cement sleepers...

After the imperial court issued an order to build the railway from Taiyuan to Datong, many people became busy.

As the only son in the family, Huang Silang bid farewell to his parents and escorted the food and supplies in his own business all the way north to Datong.

As the only son, he was called Huang Silang because he had three older brothers before, but they all died young.

He is the only one who has successfully raised it to adulthood!
The Huang family is a member of the Shanxi merchants, but they are not the eight major Shanxi merchant families who are collaborating with the enemy and traitorous to become the Han family, but are just honest businessmen.

It is the eight traitors who are collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, not the entire Shanxi merchant group. This point must be clearly distinguished.

Most of the Shanxi merchants are colluding with officials and businessmen to do business at most, and collaborating with the enemy and traitorous country is not possible.

During the 20 years when the Manchu Qing ruled the world, the properties of ordinary Shanxi merchants like the Huang family were severely suppressed by the eight traitors.

The eight traitors took advantage of their status as imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty to expand their industries and encroached on the interests of many ordinary Shanxi merchants.

And after the restoration of Ming Dynasty, the eight major traitors were liquidated, all their main families were exterminated, and the branches were all dead and exiled.

They encroached on the interests of Shanxi merchant groups, and most of them were spit out, and were taken back by Shanxi merchants like the Huang family.

During this process, the Huang family also successfully got on the way of the Ming court and began to do business in line with the court's policies.

Whether it is actively investing capital in the development of industry and commerce, building various factories, or cooperating with the imperial court in infrastructure construction such as railway construction, the Huang family has always responded positively to the imperial court's policies.

Today, the imperial court wants to build a railway line connecting Taiyuan and Datong, and it needs logistical support to provide food, tools and other materials for the construction site.

The Huang family took the initiative to choose to transport supplies to the north and prepare to sell them to the imperial court, out of such considerations.

In fact, not only the Huang family, but the entire Shanxi merchant group, almost all reputable merchants, are actively selling to the court.

In Daming now, there are many opportunities for you to do business and make money.

But there are not many opportunities to get in touch with the imperial court.

And for many businesses, you are only eligible to enter the market if you have a relationship with the imperial court.

When the court needs it, these businessmen will rush to stand up and express their views, so it is not difficult to understand.

And the business that the Huang family is looking forward to now is the outsourcing project of the imperial court.

If the Ming court wanted to build infrastructure, overhaul railways and official roads, it was impossible for the court to be responsible for all of them.

It will be a very good way to outsource the project and use the energy of local gentry and businessmen to complete the construction of infrastructure.

And such projects are very popular, and many gentry and businessmen are rushing to do it.

However, due to the limited number of projects, there is something to be said about who will do it or not.

Sophistication of the world is unavoidable, but at the same time of sophistication, it is quite necessary to sell well to the imperial court and support the implementation of the imperial court's policies.

Otherwise, even if you are giving the officials in charge of related affairs a sophistication, it will not be easy for them to arrange for you.

When Huang Silang led the team to escort the supplies to Datong, the old man of the Huang family also brought gifts and was going to pay a visit to the relevant officials in charge of the railway construction outsourcing project.

Get in touch with this half-brother of his father and mother.

……

Jiang Qiang was wearing an official robe and sitting on a sofa.

With a square face, he was wearing a Ming official robe, which gave people a sense of righteousness and awe.

On the table in front of him, apart from the teapot, teacups, and a stack of snacks, there was also a gift box.

The lid of the gift box was lifted, and the gifts inside the gift box were clearly visible.

It was a bag of silver dollars wrapped in red paper, and it was estimated that the amount could be about 500 yuan.

Jiang Qiang picked up the teacup and took a sip of the tea, looking at the gift box with fiery and longing eyes.

500 silver dollars is not a small number!

The salary of ordinary workers in this era is about two silver dollars, or 24 silver dollars a year.

It takes 500 years to earn 20 silver dollars...

To be able to take 500 silver dollars as a gift, Mr. Huang's handwriting is not small.

The old man of the Huang family also saw Jiang Qiang's eyes, and said with a smile.

"I hope Mr. Jiang can help out with the outsourcing of railway construction and siege."

"Everyone in my Huang family wants to contribute to the imperial court within their ability."

Jiang Qiang drank all the tea in the cup, put down the cup, and forced himself to look away from the "gift".

Then he spoke.

"Mr. Huang, it's not that I don't want to help you anymore."

"It's the imperial court that has adopted a new policy for the project subcontracting plan."

"The imperial court is going to conduct a public bidding for the construction project of the project. Those who are interested can participate in the bidding meeting and make a public quotation."

"Whoever gives the quotation is more beneficial to the court, the court will outsource the project to whomever..."

"I really can't help you!"

"Mr. Huang should take these gifts back."

Although Jiang Qiang was envious of the gift in front of him, he also knew the truth of taking money to do things.

Since he can't do anything, he will definitely not accept the money.

Furthermore, the Jinyiwei, which is responsible for monitoring corruption among officials, is not a decoration.

Jiang Qiang was also afraid that if he collected the money, he would end up in Jinyiwei's jail.

Now, although the Emperor Taizu's treatment of corrupt officials is not as cruel as that of Emperor Taizu, he often strips the skin and grass, ransacks the family and exterminates the family.

But it can't be said to be lenient!

There are not a few officials in the imperial court who are imprisoned for corruption every year, although not many people are sentenced to death for corruption.

But if the whole family is exiled to Nanyang or Nuer Gandusi, and the supporting life-long labor reform package, it is better to die than to die.

The labor intensity of the labor camp is really using people like animals.

Jiang Qiang doesn't think he is more patient than livestock.

When the old man of the Huang family heard the words, he just stroked his beard and said.

"It doesn't matter, these are just meeting gifts from my Huang family to the adults, and the gifts that I gave out, there is no reason to take them back."

But Jiang Qiang said with a firm attitude.

"No, no, I really can't accept this gift. Mr. Huang should take it back."

"It's good to use it to build bridges and pave roads, and benefit the village."

With Jiang Jiang's firm attitude, Mr. Huang realized that the other party was not joking and really did not want to accept the money.

Seeing this, he no longer insisted, but just said with a smile.

"In that case, I will use these gifts to benefit the village."

"I believe that the people in the village will be grateful for your kindness."

Jiang Qiang stood up from the sofa to see off the guests, and sent Mr. Huang out.

……

Mr. Huang left the official office of the Ministry of Construction in Taiyuan City, and returned to his family's mansion in a four-wheeled carriage.

On the way, Mr. Huang sat in the carriage and began to think about the bidding.

This bidding, to put it bluntly, is an auction.

The object of the auction is the quota of the imperial court's project.

Although this bidding can indeed reduce the expenditure for the court, it is not so good for businessmen like them who are going to undertake the project.

In order to get the project, everyone will scramble to lower the price, and the profits will naturally be diluted...

After Mr. Huang was about to return to his mansion, he asked a few professional bookkeepers to do the calculation to see what the minimum price his Huang family could accept.

In other words, once the price was lowered, the Huang family would lose money.

Sighing, Mr. Huang couldn't help complaining.

"When did the imperial court become so shrewd..."

The accountant Mr. Huang invited by Mr. Huang calculated for a long time, and then came to a conclusion.

"If the quality of the project is to be guaranteed, the minimum construction cost must be 600 silver dollars per kilometer, so as to ensure that my Huang family will not lose money after taking over the project."

Listening to the accountant's report, Mr. Huang knew it well.

In order to ensure profits, the base price he can accept must be at least 600 yuan per kilometer.

Otherwise, you are doing nothing for the court!

As for cutting corners and materials, tampering with the quality of the project to ensure profits...

To be honest, Mr. Huang didn't dare.

Because after the project is completed, the imperial court needs to complete the acceptance before paying them.

Even if the Huang family can fool the acceptance officials with their sophistication, the way the court pays for the project is to pay in installments.

It doesn't mean that after the on-the-spot inspection is completed, the court will pay the money on the spot.

Instead, it will be paid in stages, 20.00% will be paid if there is no problem with the project quality within one year, 20.00% will be paid if there is no problem within three years, and [-]% will be paid by the court if there is no problem within five years.

If there is no problem within ten years, the imperial court will settle the project payment.

If there is a problem with the quality of the project during this period, the engineering party responsible for the construction and the officials responsible for the acceptance will all be held accountable.

Supervision is quite strong!

If one is not done well, the whole family will be exiled to reform through labor and will end up dedicating their whole lives to the construction of the feudal new Ming Dynasty free of charge!

(End of this chapter)